Clustering of the self-organizing map using a clustering validity index based on inter-cluster and intra-cluster density

The self-organizing map (SOM) has been widely used in many industrial applications. Classical clustering methods based on the SOM often fail to deliver satisfactory results, specially when clusters have arbitrary shapes. In this paper, through some preprocessing techniques for 4ltering out noises and outliers, we propose a new two-level SOM-based clustering algorithm using a clustering validity index based on inter-cluster and intra-cluster density. Experimental results on synthetic and real data sets demonstrate that the proposed clustering algorithm is able to cluster data better than the classical clustering algorithms based on the SOM, and 4nd an optimal number of clusters. ? 2003 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.